Leadership Needed

To the Editor:

President John F. Kennedy once shared the following quote in one of his many famous speeches of encouragement to his fellow Americans: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Finally, as reported in the Monday, Aug. 16, 2021 Record, good and experienced people like the CEO of St. Mark’s Hospital and former County Judge Janecka are doing the right thing by publicly advising everyone to vaccinate.

What the exhausted and almost overwhelmed staff at St. Mark’s is experiencing is not our county officials version of “trickle down” and their CEO forecasts that it will only get worse in the months ahead given that almost half of Fayette County has not been vaccinated and that 90% of those in the hospital for COVID-19 are not vaccinated. That 90% number also appeared to approximate the percentage of teachers and hundreds of parents and children not wearing a mask to protect our young children at last week’s “Meet the Teacher” at La Grange Elementary.

Given that the Texas Supreme Court anti-mask ruling against county judges does not appear to apply to school districts - so much for the Republican philosophy of government by local rule - will our county officials join these good men by calling upon every school superintendent in Fayette County to require masks for the sake of our little kids under age 12 until the Pfizer vaccine is made available for them probably by late September or early October? That is a relatively insignificant price to pay to save our young children from needless suffering, permanent injury to mind and body, and even death.

John W. Mikus

Fayetteville